Abstract
Objective:
The purpose of this paper is to present a model policy on lightning safety for athletic trainers.
Background:
Among college athletic programs in the United States there is a serious lack of written policy on lightning safety. Available evidence shows that most National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I institutions, even though they are located in high lightning activity areas of the country, do not have formal, written lightning safety policies.
Clinical Advantages/ Recommendations:
The policy presented herein, which is at the forefront of such policies, is the lightning safety policy written as part of a policies and procedures manual for the division of sports medicine at a public NCAA Division I university. This is a policy based on practicality that utilizes the “flash-to- bang” method for determining the distance of lightning activity from the observer. The policy begins with the importance of prevention, including the daily monitoring of weather reports. The policy defines a “safe shelter” and specifies the chain of command for determining who removes a team or individuals from an athletic site in the event of dangerous lightning activity.
Keywords: policies and procedures, environmental hazards
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Fontanarosa P. B. Electrical shock and lightning strike. Ann Emerg Med. 1993 Feb;22(2 Pt 2):378–387. doi: 10.1016/s0196-0644(05)80468-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Holle R. L., López R. E., Howard K. W., Vavrek J., Allsopp J. Safety in the presence of lightning. Semin Neurol. 1995 Dec;15(4):375–380. doi: 10.1055/s-2008-1041047. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Walsh K. M., Hanley M. J., Graner S. J., Beam D., Bazluki J. A survey of lightning policy in selected division I colleges. J Athl Train. 1997 Jul;32(3):206–210. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]